Nun Peak Expedition 7135m

About Ladakh

Ladakh, “The land of high passes”, is a region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Although, rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh indicate that the area has been inhabited from Neolithic times, not much is known about Ladakh before the 1st century. During the 2nd century when much of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet was still practicing the Bon religion, Buddhism started to spread into western Ladakh from Kashmir. In 842 Nyima-Gon, a Tibetan royal prince annexed Ladakh after the break-up of the Tibetan empire, and founded a separate Ladakhi dynasty. During this period, Ladakh acquired a predominantly Tibetan population. Also known as “Little Tibet” Ladakh’s culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet.

The largest town in Ladakh is Leh, followed by Kargil. Ladakhis are Tibetan-Mongoloid in appearance although traces of Kashmiri Moslem influence can also be seen. The predominant religion in Ladakh is the Tibetan form of Buddhism, although Islamic influences are found from the Kashmir Valley as far as Kargil, and there are some Christian families in Leh.

Some interesting facts about Ladakh

• Ladakh is the highest settlement in India. The fields at Korzok, on the Tso-moriri Lake, at 4,600m are widely considered to be the highest cultivated lands in the world.
• A Bailey bridge between the Suru River and Dras River in Ladakh, is the highest bridge in the world at an altitude of 5,602m.
• Only place in India where twin humped Bactrian camels can be found.
• Ladakh is home to the mystical Magnetic Hill, which is a so-called “gravity hill”. The alignment of the road with the slope of the background can give the illusion that cars are able to drift upwards.
• The Pangong lake in Ladakh is one of the highest salt lakes in the world

A Day on Your Trek

Although each day is different, considering the weather, general pace of the group and length of the days walk, in general your day begins with a wake up tea at around 6 to 6:30 in the morning. You will then be provided with a bowl of warm water for washing. Then you will need to pack your duffel bag and your day pack and come to the lodge’s dining for breakfast.
After breakfast we will hit the trail and usually walk for about 3 to 4 hours before we stop for lunch. We will give you about an hour and a half rest during lunch, which will also give enough time for the staff to have their lunch and pack. Usually after 3 to 4 hours of walking we finish the days walk by 4 PM. Tea/ Coffee and snacks will be served on arrival to the lodge. Your group Leader will often organize side trips in the afternoon. Your dinner will be served around 7 PM.

During camping at Base Camps: You will be sleeping in Tents and the food will be cooked and served in the dining tent by our staff. We will provide single tent with comfortable sleeping 3 inch foam mattress with insulated ridge mattress at base Camp. On higher camps we provide North Face VE 25 tents on twin sharing. We also have weather proof Kitchen and Dining tents with comfortable tables and chairs.  Toilet tents with sitting pot and shower tent will be provided at Base Camp.

High Altitude

On this expedition you will be climbing a technical mountain which is 7135m, so it is very important to understand the effects of altitude. The greatest provocation is going too high too fast. Hi On Life’s itinerary has been carefully designed to minimize the effects of altitude. We ascend slowly and surely allowing enough time for safe acclimatization.
Headaches and breathlessness are common at altitude which in itself is nothing to worry about. In rare cases, this may worsen to Acute Mountain sickness (AMS), so a close watch is kept on all trekkers by the group leader who is trained to recognize the symptoms of AMS which are severe headaches, nausea, lethargy, loss of appetite serious breathlessness even at rest. If any trekkers show such signs they will be descended to relatively lower and safer altitude. The Group Leader’s decision on evacuating such person to a safe altitude is final. Do not medicate yourself without first informing your group leader. Going to altitude slowly with adequate rest and adequate intake of fluid (3 to 4 litres per day), you will most likely have no problems apart from breathlessness on hills which is completely normal as the percentage of Oxygen in the air is relatively lower to that at sea level. The most important thing is not to worry about altitude because our team is there to take care of you.

Staff

Group leader: Our Group leaders are highly trained in all aspects of the trek, conservation, first aid specializing on altitude sickness, emergency procedures and have extensive knowledge of the natural history of the area.

Sirdar: His job is to manage and organize staff duties. He is responsible for the actual operation of the trek.
Climbing Sherpas: They are the key to a successful summit. They fix ropes and fix routes up the mountain. They will also carry your sleeping bags, tents and cook high altitude food up in higher camps in the mountain.

Cook: Responsible for your food. Hygiene of a high standard is taken into consideration in preparing the food.

Climbing Sherpas: Climbing Sherpas will ferry load up the mountain and establish camps. They will also fix ropes on sections where we require fixed lines and accompany you while climbing up to the summit.

Mules and horses: to ferry expedition gears to Base Camp.

Weather:

June till September

On the trek at lower altitude (3500m to 4500m) during daytime the Max temp can be around 15C to 20C and the Min temp can be 0C to 5C

During the climb: Daytime Max temp can be between 5C to 10C and Min temp can be between -8C to -15C

On your summit day: You can expect between -15C to -20C + wind chill factor depending on the wind speed

Please note that this is just general information and it could vary.

Recommendations for things you should bring:

Clothing:

Head 

• Warm hat wool or synthetic that covers your ears
• Balaclava
• Sunhat
• Glacier sunglasses with side shields, 1 pair ski goggles (optional)
• Headlamp with extra batteries and bulbs
• Bandana or head scarf, also useful for dusty conditions

Upper Body

• 2 cotton t-shirts
• 2 polypropylene t-shirt
• 2-3 long sleeve thermal underwear shirts, lightweight
• 2  heavy thermal underwear
• 1 polar fleece jacket
• Gore-Tex jacket with hood, waterproof and breathable

Please note: We provide  1 very warm goose-down (duvet) jacket with hood. However, you can bring your own if you already have it.

Hands

• 1 pr. lightweight poly-liner gloves
• 1 pair mittens, consists of 1 Gore-tex over mitt matched with the very warm polar Fleece mitt liner
• 1 pair down mittens
  

Lower Body 

• 1 pair walking shorts
• 1 to 2 pair walking trousers for trekking and around camp
• 2 pair lightweight thermal bottoms
• 2 pair heavy or expedition weight thermal bottoms
• 1 pair polar fleece trousers
• 1 pair Gore-Tex trousers, Waterproof/breathable with side zips

Feet

• 1 pair climbing boot preferably for 7000m+ (you can also hire them in Kathmandu)
• 1 pair treking /walking boots with good ankle support
• 1 pair trainers, running shoes and/or sandals for Kathmandu and in camp;
• 1 pair down booties (optional)
• 2 pair heavy preferably wool socks
• 3 pair of liner socks. Polypropylene or wool
• 3 pair medium lightweight trekking socks, poly or wool

Sleeping 

• For high altitude, 1 down (duvet) sleeping bag (rated to – 20 Centigrade or -0 F)

Please note: We provide Exped down matress and kari mats (You dont need to bring your own)

Rucksack and Travel Bags

• 1 medium rucksack (50-70 litres)
• Small padlocks for duffel kit bags.

Please note: We provide you 2 big duffle bags.

Personal Food for camps beyond Advanced Base Camp.

We ask each member to bring their own imported daily snack and energy foods for higher camps. We recommend you to bring 8 to 10 packets of Turmat or equivalent quality freeze dried food of your choice of flavours. In addition, growing variety of imported foods such as cheeses, chocolates, biscuits, cookies, nuts, and power-bars are now available in Kathmandu, at realistic prices.

Assesories

• 1 small roll of repair tape, 1 sewing repair kit
• 1 cigarette lighter
• 1 compass or GPS
• Camera
• Nylon stuff sacks for food and gear storage, large Ziplocs are useful also
• 3 Water bottles (1 litre)
• 1 plastic cup and spoon
• 1 small folding knife
• Books, playing cards, ipod/mp3 player, games, musical instrument etc
• Adequate amount of batteries, etc.

Healthy and trouble free holiday

Please consult a doctor for vaccination against Typhoid, Meningitis, polio, and hepatitis. If you have special dietary requirements or allergies, please give us a list of what you can and can’t eat so that we can provide proper food for you. If you are undergoing a course of prescription medicine, please ensure that you have sufficient supplies for the entire holiday. Some types of drugs including anti malaria have side effects at high altitude; therefore please consult your doctors regarding these drugs. The places you trek are mosquito free and there has been no report on malaria in Ladakh and you do not spend a lot of time in the low
lands of India.

Insure yourself:

We highly recommend you to take a comprehensive Personal Travel Insurance before leaving home. This should cover for your loss of baggage, airline delays, sickness, and accidents. It should cover all incurring costs for evacuations.

Money Matters

The ideal currency to bring with you is USD or Euro. You can exchange them in Delhi or Leh. You can also draw money from ATM machines in New Delhi or Leh.The exchange rate is 1 USD = 62 Indian Rupees approx. (subject to change)

In Delhi and Agra: During the entire trip the only meals that you need to pay for are 3 dinners and 2 to 3 lunches depending on your time of departure flight. Delhi has a wide variety of restaurants with a very wide range of price. Depending on where you eat, each meal will cost anything between 5 to 25 USD + drinks. Plus 20 to 30 USD for your taxis if you wish to go around the city.

On trek: Basically there are no place where you can spend money on the trek. However, in few places you might find small tea shops that sells cold drinks, chocolates etc. It is recomended to bring around 5 USD per day. This money is chocolates, soft drinks and beers etc and also for small donations in the monasteries.

Tipping

Although tipping is entirely optional and personal matter the following is recommended as a guideline

In Delhi and Leh: for bellboys, waiters and porters 50 to 100 Indian Rupees

On the trek: At the end of the trek it is a customary to tip the field staff. The recommended amount is 100-150 USD depending on group size. The Group leader will collect the tip and then split it between the staff and put it in envelops so that the trekkers can give it to the staff during the “Farewell Ceremonies”. Please note- the Group Leader is not included in this tip. If you want to tip the Group Leader, you can do it separately.

Summit Bonus for Climbing Sherpa: 500 USD for each Climbing Sherpa which is to be contributed by the group.

Some Do’s and Don’ts

Ladakhki people treat visitors as special guests. Although they will never rebuke you publicly for unknowingly offending them, we must consider their culture.

While in Ladakh please observe the following:

• Full or partial nudity is not accepted.
• Over display of affection between men and women, especially in temples and monasteries are discouraged.
• Please remove your shoes before entering monasteries and temples.
• Never point the soles of your feet at a person or shrine.
• Locals walk around the Mani walls and Stupas in a clockwise direction as a respect and they expect you to do the same although it is not compulsory.
• Please ask before taking pics of a person or his/her child

Some useful tips while travelling in Delhi and Agra

Dress code: Dress sensibly and don’t walk around alone at night. For men knee length shorts and t shirts and sandals are best to cope up with the heat but in some temple and mosques you need to wear long trousers. For women it would be wise to cover up and dress modestly to avoid unwarranted advances. Light cotton trousers or knee length skirts are ideal and avoid bare back dresses.

Personal space: The concept of personal space is almost nonexistent in almost all over India. Whether you’re standing in a queue or walking in a crowded Bazaar, get used to moving shoulder-to-shoulder.

People in North India tend to stare a lot: Please don’t be offended because most of them do this out of curiosity. Easy way to deal with this is to not make direct eye contact with strangers and passersby. Get used to it and don’t let this make you uncomfortable.

Bargaining skills: In shopping malls the prices are fixed and you cannot bargain. However, in rest of your shopping adventure, it is inevitable that you will be exploited to a certain degree, the simple fact is that most vendors know you have money. Skillful bartering takes practice- a beginner’s rule of thumb is to cut the
starting price in half and then work your way to a middle ground.

Beware of Pickpockets: The streets of Delhi can become very crowded, exposing you up to a risk of being easily pick-pocketed. Keep your money in your money belt or in a forward facing backpack to avoid any thieves. If you need to take money out of your wallet, it is best to find a quiet spot and do it quickly to avoid being robbed.

Beggars: You will likely see things that strike your emotional core, but it is important to realize that these are deep rooted problems with no easy fix. Moreover if you give money to one beggar, within secs you will find yourself surrounded by a dozen other beggars from children to adults. Also keep in mind that beggar mafias control much of the inner city.

Street Hawkers: When you walk out of the sightseeing points you will meet several hawkers trying to sell you small souvenirs from pics and all sorts of things. Do not engage in a bargain or converstation unless you really want to buy them. They can be very pushy sometimes.

Go With the Flow: Despite the fact that the cities in India can be tiring with all the staring, crowded streets, beggars, pestering hawkers’ etc. try not to care about the small stuff. If you get caught up and stress about the little things, you will miss out on the bigger picture, which is that you are in one of the most distinctive and important cities in the world. The city will often come to feel like another planet entirely.

“TODAY IS YOUR DAY! YOUR MOUNTAIN IS WAITING, SO… GET ON YOUR WAY!”
DR. SEUSS